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Signed up for this this year with my son. Anyone else daft enoughbto be wanting to run around 'degla in February? Anyone done it in previous years with some tips on clothing / kit etc?
I did it a couple of years ago. Wouldn't do it again!
The weather up there has its own climate so check before you go. There is snow there now and it will likely still remain for when the race comes round.
Clothing wise you want something warm but breathable. Merino stuff maybe. For the run you want lightweight trail shoes. You will run through mud. You will run through bogs. You will run through water.
The run is all uphill for the first mile or so. The second run had a vertical scramble in too - hands and knees job.
I don't know what bike route they will use - probably the "new" red, as the old one is now closed for tree felling.
It is a bit late now, but train harder than you think you need to. Its tough.
Cheers, sounds like the sort of fun I was expecting! The run(s) won't be an issue, I'm in 89minute half marathon shape at the moment, so those legs go around OK - though I need to sharpen up my off-road stamina with some 5 miler's around where I live. I'm a shorts and t-shirt kind of runner, no matter what the weather (I'll stretch to gloves and possibly a long sleeved top if its less than -5), but I reckon I'm going to need to be a bit better dressed for the ride. I reckon 1 minute in transition to pop on a few more layers would be time well spent!
I'm gonna get caned on the ride by most others, as I suspect this is a duathlon mostly undertaken by MTBers who can run a bit, rather than runners who can MTB a bit (me).
Weather could be interesting though...
You may be surprised. Lots of v.good runners there as to be honest you don't need to be a particularly great biker to navigate the course. I know there were a few fell runners there, some x-country runners and triathletes/ironmen.
If i did another, I would probably do the bike on a CX machine. I did the race on my (then) Lapierre Spicy!
Have fun.
I'd like to hope I'd be under 40mins for the first 5 miles (and my son would probably be closer to 32 mins, as he's a good XC runner). I am a bit timid on the bike though, probably not helped by it being not particularly great (Decathlon Big RR 5.3 29er) so whilst I can climb OK I tend to be a little cautious on the other stuff. Not expecting it to be easy (where would be the challenge in that!), but we'll be heading up there in the next couple of weeks to re-familiarise ourselves with the red loop to see how its riding at this time of year.
Finished, all in one piece. Horrendous weather yesterday though, especially for the first run and the "up" on the bike - biting wind, icy / hail / snow and slippery underfoot.
Put a big grin on my face though coming out at the reservoir whilst I was still in the saddle to see my 15 year old running the last half mile or so of his final run, so he actually finished the whole event before I'd finished the ride. He finished in about 1hr49, I took 2hr18, which (given I'd spent nearly five minutes in transition off the first run, and had one stupid fall when the chain came off early on the up) I was reasonably happy with.
Some reports of the early runners on the final leg being a little confused by the route as the marshalls weren't out in time, not a problem for a slow-coach like me.
Would I do it next year? Probably not, but I can see my son having a crack at a top five finish next time around.